Marcventures employees see planting trees as a moral obligation to future generations

March 14,2018

Employees of Marcventures Mining and Development Corporation (MMDC) bolstered its commitment to environmental protection through a series of tree-planting activities in two of the Company’s host municipalities in Surigao del Sur from February 10 to March 3, 2018.

The company-wide effort took place in Barangay Cabangahan and Barangay Bon-ot in Cantilan and Carrascal towns, respectively, participated in by officers and staff of MMDC.

According to Robert Belgica, MMDC vice president for Project Development & Mine Management, the employees were able to plant over 2,300 seedlings of bamboo, narra, magutambis, and acacia mangium.

This effort is part of the Company’s year-long environmental management programs and is meant to speed up MMDC's commitment following the memorandum of agreement (MOA) signed last year with the mayors of Carrascal, Cantilan, Madrid, Carmen and Lanuza (CarCanMadCarLan), MMDC’s host and neighboring towns in the province.

“For this year 2018, MMDC aims to plant some 940,000 trees in CarCanMadCarLan,” explained Belgica. “This is an undertaking that we take seriously because we hope to not just rehabilitate the land but make it sustainable for future generations.”

MMDC also engages the services of a third-party agency in conducting bamboo planting activities and providing Marcventures the knowledge, management, and maintenance of the company’s existing bamboo nursery/plantation.

In choosing what trees to be used for rehabilitation, Marcventures keeps in mind the potential of each plant species to provide livelihood opportunities to local communities, another aspect that is included in the Company’s sustainable development agenda.

“This effort is but a small part of MMDC's long-term quest of promoting environmental protection and preservation,” said MMDC Environment Manager Manuel Torres. “For MMDC, planting trees is not just a means to comply with conditions required by the government but, more importantly, a moral obligation to future generations that must purposely be realized and carried out by the men and women who comprise our Company.”